What Is Managed Dedicated Server Hosting?

Managed dedicated server hosting is a great choice for many people who are looking for a more secure and stable server to host their business site on. In today's world of shared servers there are a lot of problems that can cause your own business site to crash or become infected if a hacker breaks into the server its even if they aren't after your records.

What Benefits Do Dedicated Servers Have?

Having a dedicated server is just that- dedicated to you and only you and your business files to include but not limited to your site, media, and sensitive records.

Exactly What is Managed Dedicated Server Hosting and How Does it Work?

The basics of server hosting in general are that it's a computer somewhere that stores and broadcasts your website for you (in a controlled manner of course). This includes security and control over how your hosting acts, what pages or sections of the server/hard drive they can access from the web and more.

The Difference Between Shared And Dedicated Server Hosting

Most websites are hosted on "shared" server hosting which is likened to the different profiles or "users" on your computer. On a Windows computer, each profile/user has complete control over their profile and settings, security, and access and they can block other profiles from accessing any personal information. Servers do this using firewalls and configurations that limit access. The problem with this set up is the same as the set up of using shared hosting servers, they can be cracked and a good hacker can penetrate any software firewall or management system given enough time.

Dedicated server hosting is different. It's like the difference between your computer on the internet and another computer on the same web. Although both computers access the web the same, you can't hack into one computer from another as easily as you could from within the same computer/server, thus there is a layer of protection on a dedicated server that doesn't exist on a shared hosting server.

You can generally do a lot more on your own server since your the sole user of that server. You don't have to worry about someone else's website, for example, using cheap security, being hacked and putting your site and your customers personal data at risk.

What's The Difference Between Managed and Unmanaged Server Hosting?

Another great benefit of "Managed" dedicated server hosting is that the managed part means there is a full time system administrator watching over your server and managing it for you.

This means you don't have to manage it full time to make sure everything is working- it works like the shared hosting but with someone you can interact with that can help you achieve your goals for using that server and that keeps everything running, including backups of your server with redundant raid setups. This is akin to owning a rental property and hiring a management team to handle the details. You can have a managed or unmanaged setup.

Managed is less hands on. This is great if you want to spend that time running your business not maintaining a server or making sure software updates happen etc...

You pay for this service but the price is well worth the benefits. Managing a server is a great deal of work on your part and trust me you don't want to have that responsibility. Let them do the hard work and get back to improving your customer base!

The managed service/server includes more features as well, including system updates automatically invoked for you, operating system updates/upgrades, firewalls and firewall management as well, better and higher quality tech support and even active spyware protection. These are only a few benefits of a managed server. All of this would have to be done by you with an unmanaged server which could become a full time job that takes you away from your business.

Are Managed Dedicated Server Hosting Services Only For The Tech Savvy?

No. Actually, the reason you use a managed server is so you can have a website that is safe, secure, high tech, and yet you only have to know what it is you want to put on it. The manager won't build your website for you but they can assist you in getting a database installed or in setting up your server for you. They maintain your server so it's always working at peak performance and even act as a sort of security specialist to stop hackers from compromising your system. The idea behind the managed server is your intervention is minimal but your benefit is maximum. Dedicated servers are safer, less problematic, and in many ways a lot like owning the building in a brick and mortar vs renting a shop space in a mall. With so many companies moving online, the cost of managed server services is going down. It's also just a good idea to have your own dedicated server, especially if you host sensitive information such as customer details on it.

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